originally bought by a picture dealer for 6000 fr. (2501.), and afterwards sold, for at least ten times that sum, to the King of Prussia. The two exterior lower wings are said to be still in the possession of the chapter, but are shut up from motives of false delicacy, because they represent Adam and Eve in a state of nature.

11. G. Honthorst The Descent from the Cross, and, at the side, G. Crayer, the Crucifixion. 12. N. Roose The Virgin, surrounded by Angels; on the rt. is the monument of Bp. Van der Noot, who is kneeling before the Virgin; opposite is the monument of another bishop, who is represented meditating on the scourging of our Lord. 13. Contains a masterpiece of Rubens, but not well preserved - St. Bavon renouncing the Profession of a Soldier to enter the Convent of St. Amand as a Monk. The figure of the saint is said to be a portrait of the artist himself. "This picture was formerly the ornament of the high altar of this cathedral, but was displaced to make room for an ordinary piece of sculpture. When Rubens was thus degraded, one may conclude his fame was then not established: he had not been dead long enough to be canonised, as he may be said to be at present. The saint is represented in the upper part of the picture, in armour, kneeling, received by a priest at the door of a church: below is a man, who may be supposed to be his steward, giving money to the poor. Two women are standing by, dressed in the fashion of the times when Rubens lived: one of them appears to be pulling off a chain, which falls from her neck, as if she intended to follow the example before her. This picture, for composition, colouring, richness of effect, and all those qualities in which Rubens more particularly excelled, claims a rank among his greatest and best works."

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R. It was also carried to the Louvre. 14. Otto Vennius The Resurrection of Lazarus; very good. 15. Seghers - Martyrdom of St. Lieven. 16. A copy from Rubens- The Martyrdom of St. Catherine. 17. Opposite this chapel is the monument of Bishop Van

Under the choir is a low subterranean chapel, in one corner of which lie buried Hubert Van Eyck and his sister, also a painter, who may be said to have been literally wedded to the art, since she rejected all offers of marriage in order to devote herself to it. This Crypt is reputed very ancient, but a large proportion of the low stumpy pillars are probably of the same age as the upper structure, and added as supports to it. St. Bavon suffered material injury from the fanatic depredations of the Iconoclasts in 1566; 400 of the lowest class of the people entering the church by night, commenced by torchlight the work of demolition, dashing the images and painted glass to pieces with their pole-axes, effacing the rich sculpture, and cutting the pictures to shreds. Within 3 or 4 days every church in Ghent shared a like fate. Philip II.'s vengeance, thus aroused, brought upon Belgium the curse of the Inquisition, and the scourge of an Alva: confiscation, exile, or death were the consequences.

In the Church of St. Michael “is, or rather was, the celebrated Crucifixion of Vandyck, for it is almost destroyed by cleaning. It appears, by what remains, to have been one of his most capital works. Vandyck has here introduced a most beautiful horse in an attitude of the utmost grace and dignity. This is the same horse on which he drew Charles V., which is in the gallery at Florence; the head of the emperor he copied from Titian.". R. The picture has been so much injured and repainted that its original merits can hardly be determined. It stands in

the N. transept, with a curtain before it. Next to it is a modern picture by a Belgian, representing the finding of the Cross by the Empress Helena, whose figure is a portrait of the Empress Josephine. There are numerous paintings by modern Belgian artists in this church. The pulpit of carved mahogany, with a bas-relief of the Ascension deserves notice.

The most ancient church in the town is that of St. Nicholas, though much altered by repairs, conflagrations, &c.

No other churches in Ghent are of equal interest with the foregoing, either in their architecture, or the pictures they contain.

The University is a truly handsome modern edifice, with a noble Corinthian portico, copied from the Pantheon at Rome, built partly on the site of a college of Jesuits. It was founded by William I., King of Holland, in 1826. The Entrance-hall, the Stair-case, and the Amphitheatre, where academic meetings are held and the prizes are distributed, are very fine, exhibiting great taste, and reflecting the highest credit on the architect, M. Roelandts. The Museum of natural history is of considerable extent, without any claim to great superiority for its collections. The library amounts to 60,000 volumes. The number of students is about 3.50. The entrance is behind, in the Rue longue des Marais.

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'The Hôtel de Ville, not far from the Belfry, has two façades in totally different styles of architecture: having been built at intervals between 1482 and 1620, according to 3 or 4 different plans, by as many architects: is "a florid mixture of French flamboyant and English Tudor Gothic: the flat pointed arches are quite in the English pattern"- F. S. The elegant turret or tribune at the corner, with the part adjoining, in the richest flamboyant Gothic, is by Eustace Polleyt, 1527-1560; the other façade (1600-20), facing the Marché Beurre, has columns of 3 different orders one above another. The Congress of Confederates, who assembled in 1576 to expel the Spaniards from Belgium, signed the treaty known in

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history as the Pacification of Ghent in the Salle du Trône. The interior of the building contains one or two modern paintings, but is not entitled to very great admiration.

The Cabinet of M. von Saceghem contains some very superior old paintings.

The Museum or Academy, Rue St. Marguérite (entrance at the side of the Augustine Church: admission at all hours with a fee): has no good pictures. These are the best: Rubens St. Francis receiving the Stigmata, or 5 holy wounds; formerly in the Church of Recollets, where Sir J. R. saw it. He says of the figure of St. Francis, that it is" without dignity, and more like a beggar; though his dress is mean, he ought surely to be represented with the dignity and simplicity of a saint. Upon the whole, Rubens would appear to no great advantage at Ghent, if it was not for the picture in St. Bavon.". Sir J. R. -21. The Last Judgment; M. Coxie. The Emperor Charles V. landing in Africa. Francis I. made prisoner at Pavia, yields up his sword to De Lannoy, a Flemish knight. Rough sketches executed with great boldness, and made by Gaspar de Crayer to decorate the arch of triumph, erected on the occasion of the visit of the Infant Ferdinand to Ghent. J. Jordaens -The Woman taken in Adultery. T. Duchatel· The Installation of the Emperor Charles VI., 1668, as Count of Flanders, in the Marché au Vendredi, A great number of figures in the manner of Teniers. A great part of the collection consists of modern pictures.

The Marché au Vendredi (Vrydags Markt) is a large square, surrounded by ancient houses, named from the day on which the market is held in it. The ceremonies of the inauguration of the Counts of Flanders were celebrated on this spot, with a pomp and splendour hardly to be conceived at present. Here also was the rendezvous of the

Trades' Unions" of the middle ages, whenever a real or supposed breach of the privileges of their guilds or corporations on the parts of their rulers excited these turbulent spirits, dures de Flandres," to rebellion. Here

"ces têtes

their standards were planted, around which they rallied in arms. On this spot, Jacques van Artevelde, descended from one of the noblest families of Flanders, but called the Brewer of Ghent, because he had enrolled himself in the corporation of brewers to flatter the popular vanity by ranking himself among the people, at the head of his partisans, chiefly weavers, encountered the opposite faction of fullers, in a civic broil, with such bloodthirsty fury, that the presence of the host, which was brought out upon the spot to separate the combatants, was disregarded, and 1500 corpses of citizens slain by fellowcitizens were left on the square. The day was afterwards marked in the annals of the town as Evil Monday. It was in this place, 40 years after, that Jacques's son, Philip van Artevelde, was saluted Ruwaert or Protector of Ghent, and received (1381) the oath of fidelity from his townsmen, when called upon to lead them against their oppressor, Louis de Mâle. The story of Van Artevelde is told in Henry Taylor's Drama.

In the Marché au Vendredi, also, at a later period, under the Duke of Alva, were lighted the fires of the Inquisition. Many thousands perished during those religious persecutions, which dispersed the best and most industrious citizens of Ghent over other lands, and struck a fatal blow at her commercial prosperity. In a street close to the Marché, called the Mannekens Aert, is an enormous cannon, one of the largest in existence, being 18 ft. long and 10 in circumference, named De dulle Griete, or Mad Margery; it is of hammered iron, was made in the days of Philip le Bon, and used by the Gantois at the siege of Oudenarde, 1382, and again in 1452.

In the Place St. Pharäilde, near the Marché aux Poissons, still stands the old turreted gateway, called the Oudeburg, or S' Gravensteen, the Count's Stone (i. e. castle), a relic of the castle of the Counts of Flanders, built by Baldwin Bras de Fer, 868. The small portion that remains of the building, consisting of an old archway and turret, is now incorporated in a cotton factory.

The area within is occupied by houses of the meanest kind. It deserves to be visited, however, as one of the oldest existing buildings in Belgium, and the interior contains some curious vestiges of its ancient origin. In the years 1338-9, it was the residence of Edward III. and his family; and his Queen Philippa here gave birth to a son, who was called, from his birth-place, John of Gaunt. An intimate alliance existed for many years between the men of Ghent, or Gaunt, and the English, particularly during the reigns of the Edwards. The Flemings were deeply interested in procuring our wool for their cloths; the English sovereigns, on the other hand, were glad to secure "the good towns" and weavers of Flanders as allies to assist them in their designs upon the crown of France, and threatened to prohibit the exportation of wool when the men of Gaunt opposed their wishes, or refused to embrace their cause.

Jacques van Artevelde, the Brewer of Ghent, was a faithful ally of Edward III., who used familiarly to call him "his dear Gossip ;" and the Queen Philippa stood godmother to his son Philip. It was at his suggestion that Edward assumed the title of King of France, and quartered the fleurs de lis with the arms of England, from which they were not removed till the end of the last century. The English connection was in the end fatal to Jacques, and led to his being killed by the citizens, whom he had so often led as easily as sheep, by his talents, courage, and eloquence. In 1344, Edward III. crossed over to Sluys at the invitation of Jacques, who, relying on his influence with the citizens, had promised to make him lord and heritor of Flanders. But this proposal was distasteful to the men of Ghent, who were unwilling to disinherit their natural lord; and, during Van Artevelde's absence to confer with Edward, the popular discontent against him, increased by rumours that, during his administration of the affairs of Flanders, he had secretly sent large sums of money out of the country to England, was excited in a high degree, and "set them of Gaunt on fire." "As

he rode into the town about noon, they of the town knew of his coming, and many were assembled together in the street where he should pass, and when they saw him they began to murmur, and to run together their heads in one hood, and said, Behold yonder great master, who will order all Flanders after his pleasure, the which is not to be suffered.' As he rode through the street, he perceived that there was some new matter against him, for he saw such as were wont to make reverence to him as he came by, turn their backs towards him, and enter into their houses. Then he began to doubt, and as soon as he was alighted in his lodging, he closed fast his doors, gates, and windows. This was scant done, but all the street was full of men, and especially those of the small crafts, who assailed his house both behind and before." Though stoutly resisted, their numbers prevailed. Artevelde in vain addressed them from an upper window; the eloquent tongue was now little heeded in the frenzy of popular excitement. "When Jacques saw that he could not appease them, he drew in his head and closed the window, and so thought to steal out on the backside, into a church that joined his house, but it was so broken that 400 persons were entered in, and finally there he was taken and slain without mercy, and one Thomas Denys gave him his death stroke.". Froissart. A metal shield on the balcony of a house near the corner of the Place du Calendre marks the scene of his murder.

Van Artevelde's house was situated in the Padden Hoek (Toad's Corner). Many military and commercial treaties were made with the English by both the Arteveldes: they aided each other with troops on land and ships at sea; and the connection between the two countries was not finally broken off until the time of Philip the Bold.

The marriage of the Grand Duke Maximilian with Mary of Burgundy, heiress of Charles the Bold, was celebrated at Ghent, 1477. By this alliance the Low Countries were added to the Austrian dominions. A short time before it took place, the famous

Oliver the Barber, called Le Diable, was dispatched by his master, Louis XI., to obtain the hand of Mary for his son, or, failing in this, to stir up rebellion among the men of Ghent. His mission failed; his intrigues were frustrated; and he was dismissed with disgrace, after having impudently demanded a private audience with the princess, which her council of state refused, alleging the laws of etiquette, and even of decency, forbade such an interview with "cette jeune demoiselle qui étoit à marier."

The Emp. Charles V. was born at Ghent, in the palace now pulled down, but its site is marked by a street named after it, Cour des Princes. It is related that he first saw the light in a water-closet, which ignoble birth-place was afterwards handsomely furnished and transformed into a splendid apartment.

The turbulence and sedition of his subjects and fellow-citizens of Ghent repeatedly gave annoyance to Charles, till at length a more formidable insurrection broke out, which, spreading through Flanders, threatened to sever the province from his dominions. It originated in the discontent caused by his demand of an enormous subsidy from the citizens to carry on the war against France; which was soon fomented into open rebellion. Having put the town into a state of defence, they secretly tendered their allegiance to Francis I. He, however, not only declined the offer, but very treacherously disclosed the secret to the Emperor. Charles was in Spain; but no sooner did this intelligence reach his ears than he decided upon putting down the treason in person. time he daringly resolved to cross the dominions of his rival Francis (with whom he had recently been partially reconciled), trusting to his chivalrous generosity not to take advantage of this confidence. Great was the consternation in Ghent when it was announced that Charles, who was supposed to be many hundred miles off, had suddenly arrived before the city, and had surrounded it with a large army. Messengers were dispatched to sue for his forgiveness; but without

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